How High Potential People Speak

Use ‘Power Talk’ to Assert Your Best Self

If you’re going to perform to your full potential then you need to make sure that your priorities – your needs and wants – are met.  It’s all about confidently voicing your needs and wants.  Don’t wait for someone else to recognize what you need because you could wait forever!  Take the initiative and set goals to achieve what you want.

  • Find ways to make requests while avoiding sacrificing others’ needs.  Avoid asking for things in a pushy or overly aggressive way them off doing this and may even damage your relationship.
  • Acknowledge that you can’t control other people’s behavior.  You can only control your own behavior, so do your best to remain emotionally intelligent.
  • Learn to express yourself in a positive way.  Don’t be afraid to stand up for yourself but do so by staying respectful at all times.
  • Graciously accept both criticism and compliments.  Learn how to respond without becoming defensive or argumentative.
  • Saying No in a Yes manner is key to professional success.
  • Knowing your own limits will help you navigate how to protect your time and workload.  Even when you can’t please everyone, learn to communicate in a way that helps others understand what you “can” do for them.
  • Assert yourself by using ‘power’ talk and phrases, which are the superior responses to all kinds of day-to-day situations.  Your power talk is enhanced through your use of  “I” statements such as “I want”, “I need” or “I feel,” which conveys assertions in order to get your point across firmly.
  • Use broken record to make your point.  When you prepare your message ahead of time, you will be dramatically more successful.